Year: 2015
- Phuket News
Thai Pencak Silat fighters bring home gold
PHUKET: The 16th Pencak Silat World Championships ended yesterday with Thai fighters walking away with four gold, one silver and six bronze medals. “So many people attended the closing ceremony to cheer on Thailand. There were lots of students and teenagers from Phuket and other provinces – the 4,000-seat stadium was packed,” said Chayanee Saiyasuk, presenter and representative of the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Sunloungers allowed during Patong Beach trial period
PHUKET: Though there will be no sunloungers available for rent in the special vendor zones on Patong Beach, beachgoers are allowed to bring their own, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “Tourists are welcome to bring their own umbrellas, beach mats or sunloungers,” Ms Chalermluck said. “Or they can rent beach mats or umbrellas from vendors…
Read More » - Phuket News
Gov vows to make Phuket world-class yacht, cruise ship hub of SE Asia
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has vowed to make Phuket a world-class hub for yachts and cruise boats in Southeast Asia by putting his weight behind a multi-million-baht harbor expansion project at the island’s Deep Sea Port. The governor’s resolve follows a meeting on Tuesday headed by Minister of Transport Air Chief Marshall Prajin Janthong, who announced plans to make Phuket…
Read More » - Phuket News
10 per cent of Patong Beach not enough, says mayor
PHUKET: A three-month trial of a scheme to get beach vendors back to work in special zones along Patong Beach was launched on January 3, but the zones do not encompass enough space to cater to the volume of daily visitors, says the local mayor. The zones are roughly 100m-wide swaths of beach that extend down to about the waterline,…
Read More » - Thai Life
Gardening: Yes, we have bananas
PHUKET: I was talking recently with an English lady visiting Phuket about gardening, and the subject of bananas came up. “Do you know”, she enthused, “that banana skins put around the roots of rose bushes promote better growth?” “No,” I replied in surprise. But then I wouldn’t have known that, since bananas were like gold dust in my childhood, and…
Read More » - Thai Life
Mind Matters: Solution to island woes – re-brand Phuket
PHUKET: Marlboro has been the world’s number one cigarette brand since 1972. It is larger than its next three competitors combined and, in the United States, it is the number one cigarette brand in every state and the number one cigarette brand for men and women across all adult age groups. In 2009, Marlboro’s share was larger than the next…
Read More » - Phuket News
Dtac brings 4G to Phuket
PHUKET: Total Access Communication Public Company Limited, commonly known as dtac, on Thursday announced the roll out of 4G services in Phuket. Phuket is the first southern province to receive 4G service, after dtac launched in Bangkok. “In 2014, internet usage in Phuket [grew] by 150% compared to the previous year. The top five favorite applications used in the area…
Read More » - Phuket News
Wanted Aussie Bandido Brett Pechey not on Phuket police watchlist
PHUKET: Local law enforcement chiefs today confirmed that wanted Australian biker Brett “Kaos” Pechey, who is currently living in exile, is not a wanted man in Phuket – but they are keeping a lookout for him. Mr Pechey is the former president of a Bandido chapter in Brisbane and wanted on extortion and riot charges in Queensland. He was featured…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s Grumpy Old Men to remember expat Little John
PHUKET: The island’s Grumpy Old Men Society (GOMS) will hold a memorial service in Rawai tomorrow in honor of a special request by Phuket expat John Devenport, who died last year (story here). The event at Gig’s Jam Club will start at about 8pm, with the Thai band Cold Chilli playing into the night. “John passed away in England and…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Privatized driving tests – driven by cash, or care?
PHUKET: The move by the Department of Land Transport (DLT) to privatize driver’s licence testing is a practical idea (story here), but one that is unlikely to have much impact on the dismal road-safety standards that keep Thai roads among the most dangerous on the planet. For years, going through the process of obtaining a car or motorbike driver’s licence…
Read More » - Phuket News
NFL Conference Championships: Final four
PHUKET: There were some great games, along with a few surprises and questionable calls, in last weekend’s ‘divisional playoff’ round in the National Football League (NFL). When it was all over, the results only reinforced what most seasoned observers already knew: having an ‘elite’ quarterback is a key to playoff success. NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Green Bay Packers vs Seattle Seahawks…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thailand scores gold at Pencak Silat world titles in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand has won three gold medals at the 16th Pencak Silat World Championships being contested at the Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Center in Phuket Town, with more up for grabs today. Pornthep Poonkaew won gold for Thailand in the men’s 60-65kg division and Napaporn Boonchuen won her gold medal in the women’s 45-50kg class. This morning, Surasak Dekli defeated…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket sailors ready for ACYC yacht race teaser this weekend (video)
PHUKET: The Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) will hold the first of three family fun day races on Sunday with a race around Koh Lone, off the east coast of Phuket. “All are welcome to join the ACYC Sunday sailing races. Breakfast is available at the club from 8am. Anybody wishing to sail but does not have a boat is…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket robbers rip ATM from wall
PHUKET: Police are searching for at least two suspects who ripped a Siam Commercial Bank ATM off a pharmacy wall at Baan Manik, in Thalang, before dawn this morning. However, the suspects fled without stealing any of the cash inside, as police believe they are startled by a passer-by who spotted the thieves attempting to cut open the ATM with…
Read More » - Thailand News
PM urged to drop tobacco control bill
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM urged to drop tobacco control bill The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tobacco farmer associations have urged Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to put a brake on the tobacco control bill, which is now on its way to a Cabinet meeting. The bill, if legislated,…
Read More » - Thailand News
Impeachment good for reconciliation, says anti-graft agency
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Impeachment good for reconciliation, says anti-graft agency The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) yesterday insisted that impeachment of politicians perceived as “enemies of the country” would promote, rather than undermine, national reconciliation. “Impeachment of wrongdoers who are the enemies of the…
Read More » - World News
Belgian police kill two in raid, foil imminent Islamist attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Belgian police kill two in raid, foil imminent Islamist attacks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids on Thursday against an Islamist group that federal prosecutors said was about to launch…
Read More » - Phuket News
Euro PGA player Shiv rates Laguna Phuket’s new course “exceptional’
PHUKET: European Tour and Asian Tour player Shiv Kapur last Sunday rated the re-designed course at Laguna Phuket Golf Club as “an exceptional golf course” that maintained traditions of the game. “You walk off with a smile on your face,” he said at the inaugural tournament held to officially open the course. Kapur began the 76-player Scramble tourney with an…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bread crumbs no problem for coral reef, says Phuket official
PHUKET: Despite specialists’ worries, the director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket office explained that feeding fish bread in small quantities is no cause for concern. “Officers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center [PMBC] say that feeding fish will change their natural habits. However, based on my experience, I do not think that it is wrong to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Even tourists don’t want jet-skis on Phuket beaches, says poll
PHUKET: A staggering 75% of all respondents – including tourists – have voted that jet-skis have no place anywhere on any Phuket beach. The poll, run for four weeks on the Phuket Gazette website, received 6,362 votes, with nearly 3,000 tourists making their voices heard concerning the simple question: “Should jet-ski operators be allowed to operate on Phuket’s beaches?” Only…
Read More » - Thailand News
Queer News: Masturbator milks Doraemon dress for cover
PHUKET: Police in Pattaya have tracked down and arrested a man who donned a Doraemon dress and masturbated in public while parked outside stores in the bustling seaside resort town. Police were alerted to the man’s antics after a video posted on Facebook went viral. The video shows the man in his Doraemon dress, safety helmet and surgical mask, rolling…
Read More » - Food
Senzanome: No name, just flavor
PHUKET: Confidence is silent, insecurities are loud. In a world of bragging loudmouths, marketing talk and aggressive advertising, food at Phuket’s Senzanome restaurant speaks for itself. At the far end of Phuket Boat Lagoon, right on the edge of a yacht pier, is a quiet place. There are no crowds here and no motorbikes zooming back and forth, just an…
Read More » - Thai Life
Exciting new genre of art debuts in Phuket tomorrow night
PHUKET: Well known local artist Rose Maitland Smith will be on hand to open her new art exhibition tomorrow night, January 17. About 20 of her unique, striking and colorful paintings have arrived at the Boathouse by Montara on Kata Beach and will remain on show there until mid-March. Rose, who exudes in person the same energy and optimism that…
Read More » - Phuket News
Czech busker on Bangla reunited with his family
PHUKET: The Czech father who was busking on Soi Bangla for money while his 6-year-old daughter lay in hospital after being hit by a car has been reunited with his family. Phuket Tourist Police officers visited Lucas Matena and his family at Bangkok Hospital Phuket on Tuesday, where Mr Matena’s daughter Rebeka was recovering from a broken jaw. The officers…
Read More » - Business News
Strategies for survival: Responding to the Russian tourist crunch
PHUKET: There was much talk last year of the protests in Bangkok and the ensuing coup striking at the heart of Phuket’s tourism and hospitality industries, with many key tourism figures on the island fearing the worst. Yet, it turns out, that while the island has survived the political turmoil in the country’s capital relatively unscathed, it is events unfolding…
Read More » - Phuket News
Sausage delivery truck rams logging trailer in high-speed crash
PHUKET: A delivery truck rear-ended a 10-wheeled trailer hauling felled rubber trees at high speed on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday, resulting in massive traffic tailbacks on one of the island’s busiest highways. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, in the southbound lane, at about 6:30am. The truck driver, 25-year-old Pongsak Inthong, admitted to having been speeding…
Read More » - Phuket News
Yosemite climbers reach top of El Capitan in historic ascent
PHUKET: Two climbers completed a historic 19-day ascent to the summit of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan in California on Wednesday after scaling the rock formation’s 3,000-foot (900-metre) sheer granite face without climbing tools, representatives said. Tommy Caldwell, 36, and Kevin Jorgeson, 30, made it to the top of El Capitan at 3:30 p.m. (2330 GMT), spokeswoman Jess Clayton of…
Read More » - World News
US couple stand trial for grisly Bali suitcase murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US couple stand trial for grisly Bali suitcase murder Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An American man and his pregnant girlfriend went on trial on Wednesday for the murder of the woman’s mother, whose battered body was found stuffed in a suitcase on Indonesia’s resort island…
Read More » - Thailand News
Police ‘played a role’ in South Koreans’ abduction
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police ‘played a role’ in South Koreans’ abduction The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Twelve senior police officers and one civilian were involved in the kidnapping of three South Korean men, a high-ranking police source said yesterday. Ten of the police officers are attached to Metropolitan…
Read More » - Thailand News
‘Third gender’ will be acknowledged in the new constitution
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Third gender’ will be acknowledged in the new constitution The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) agreed on Tuesday to note the “third gender” or people of different sexuality in the new Constitution, a move likely to empower transgender people so they…
Read More » - Phuket News
Grenade lighter sparks bomb scare at Phuket health center
PHUKET: A cigarette lighter shaped like a grenade sent patients and medical staff scurrying for cover at a local health center in Phuket today. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Chao Phomna called in the bomb squad at about 12:40pm after a patient reported seeing a grenade by the front door of the center, named as the Songserm Sukhapharp Hospital. “We…
Read More » - Phuket News
Vietnamese cargo ship rams, sinks Thai fishing boat off Phuket
PHUKET: Marine officials have detained a Vietnamese cargo ship in Phang Nga after the vessel struck and sank a Thai fishing boat off Phuket yesterday. “We were anchored about 10 nautical miles from Phuket Airport, when at about 8:40am a cargo ship named Phuong Nam 69 came from nowhere and rammed our bow hard,” Arom Sri-im, owner of the fishing…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police nail two drug dealers in Rassada
PHUKET: A team of Phuket City Police officers arrested two major drug dealers yesterday in possession of nearly 75 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and more than 200 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Santi Chai-niramai and an anti-narcotics team, acting under nationwide orders from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and the Royal…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police silent on fatal Phuket tour bus crash probe
PHUKET: Police have closed the books on a fatal crash in Kamala that left nine Russian tourists injured after their tour bus collided with a Ford Fiesta (story here). The 37-year-old driver of the car, Tantima Thaworn, later succumbed to her injuries (story here). “The case was closed shortly after the death of Ms Tantima,” said Lt Col Nanon Pitakkultorn…
Read More » - Business News
Challenge of importing the food Phuket loves
PHUKET: What is the first thing most expats start to miss from their home country? Family? Maybe for some, but for most it’s food. Luckily, the days when all you could eat in Thailand was the local cuisine are gone. Today, buying a piece of Dutch cheese, a few slices of Italian ham or some French paté is as easy…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Phuket prejudice against the law
PHUKET: The fatal shot fired by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, was not heard around the world, but the repercussions of slaying an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, were. The shooting, trial and subsequent similar situation in New York, focused all major American and international media on issues that economically depressed black communities face in the US. The war of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s top police get shake-up: eight transferred
PHUKET: A sweeping transfer of eight of the island’s 10 police superintendents comes with short notice as the Phuket high season charges into 2015. Public Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police announced the orders this morning, though the transferees were officially confirmed by Region 8 Police Commissioner Decha Budnampeth on January 9. “I am surprised that so many of…
Read More »
